Calanthia Mei, Co-Founder of Masa, On AI Crypto Bots, The AI Agent Timeline, and Bittensor | Ep. 399

From Fintech to Crypto and AI

Calanthia shared her career path, transitioning from fintech investments at PayPal to scaling startups like Stripe-backed companies and finally venturing into crypto and AI.

Her progressive risk-taking led her to co-found Masa, combining AI and blockchain to innovate at the technology frontier.

“I see it as building different kinds of MVPs from zero to one across different spaces.”

What is Masa?

Masa powers decentralized AI by aggregating 20 billion daily data points across platforms. It enables AI agents to interact with humans in real time.

This infrastructure transforms static AI into dynamic, self-improving systems.

“We uniquely provide real-time data to feed into AI agents, making them partially aware, emotionally intelligent, and much more fun to deal with.”

The Evolution of AI Agents

Calanthia outlined a timeline for AI agents. It all started with basic, templated interactions (interactive JPEGs), advancing to self-improving agents with real-time data and culminating in interconnected agent societies that collaborate and compete.

“We are quickly moving from interactive JPEGs to self-improving AI agents and now to agent societies.”

Agent Arena: Competitive AI Evolution

“What if we get a group of agents to compete for crypto rewards, judged on their performance and engagement quality,” says Calanthia.

Masa’s Agent Arena pits AI agents against each other in competitions to earn TAO rewards. Inspired by games like Gladiator, it combines fun and utility, making decentralized AI more engaging and accessible.

Bittensor and Decentralized AI

“We see early Ethereum culture in the Bittensor community, with intelligent people solving the biggest AI problems.”

Calanthia praised Bittensor as a decentralized AI ecosystem with institutional backing and robust incentives. Masa’s subnets on Bittensor focus on real-time data and competitive AI agent platforms.

The Importance of Real-Time Data

Masa’s infrastructure ensures that AI agents learn and adapt instantly by integrating real-time data, bridging the gap between static and dynamic AI.

“The memory part of AI is data—processing real-time memory through a real-time brain is the name of the game,” explains Calanthia.

Decentralized AI’s Competitive Advantage

“If AI is going to dominate, we don’t just want to be a decentralized AI player—we want to eat the big AI as well.”

Masa’s vision extends beyond competing with centralized AI. It aims to disrupt and replace traditional big AI systems by leveraging decentralized networks and real-time data.

The Rise of Non-Technical Builders

Masa empowers non-technical creators to build AI agents using intuitive platforms, democratizing access to decentralized AI development.

“Generative AI is transforming the definition of a builder—you don’t need to be technical to create an AI agent.”

AI Agents and Human Nature

Calanthia discussed AI’s role in addressing CORE human desires like connection and problem-solving, with applications ranging from companionship to productivity tools.

“AI agents amplify what humans wanted in the first place because humans programmed them to do so.”

Loneliness and AI Companions

“Loneliness is one of the biggest generational problems, and AI agents can help solve it,” thinks Calantia.

AI agents provide versatile support, acting as companions, collaborators, and personal assistants, offering unique solutions for social challenges like loneliness.

Astrology and Fun with AI Agents

“Imagine an astrology-driven AI agent that gives you a daily horoscope based on your signs and blood type.”

Calanthia highlighted fun use cases for AI agents, merging utility with entertainment to create viral, user-friendly applications.

Decentralized AI and Mass Adoption

Calanthia emphasized the need for decentralized apps to compete directly with Web2 counterparts, making crypto accessible to the broader public.

“Crypto will achieve mainstream adoption when decentralized players replace traditional Web2 platforms.”

DCG’s Investment in Masa

Masa’s funding from Digital Currency Group (DCG) accelerates its mission to build decentralized AI infrastructure, strengthening its position in the emerging market.

“DCG sees Masa as the real-time data layer powering the future of decentralized AI.”

AI Agents and Tokenized Economies

Masa’s ecosystem enables global participation by simplifying AI agent creation and incentivizing users with tokenized rewards.

“The end game is that anyone, technical or not, can participate in the AI agent economy,” stresses Calanthia.

What’s Next for Masa?

“We are constantly shipping, building, and innovating—attention is short-lived in crypto.”

With a rapid development pace, Masa plans to expand its offerings, integrating more AI applications and attracting users with engaging new features.